1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capsule medical apparatus that is introduced into the internal organs of a subject, such as a patient, and a method of manufacturing the capsule medical apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Capsule medical apparatuses that have image-taking and wireless-communication functions are commonly used in the field of endoscopy. A capsule medical apparatus is introduced into a subject, such as a patient, from the mouth in order to observe the interior of the internal organs of the subject. The capsule medical apparatus in the subject sequentially takes in-vivo images of the internal organs (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as “in-vivo images”) at predetermined intervals while moving through the internal organs by peristalsis. The capsule medical apparatus sequentially transmits the in-vivo images to the outside. The capsule medical apparatus repeatedly takes and wirelessly transmits in-vivo images over a period of time until it is excreted by the subject.
A group of in-vivo images that are taken by the capsule medical apparatus is received by a receiving apparatus outside the subject and stored in a portable recording medium in the receiving apparatus. The portable recording medium that stores therein the in-vivo images of the subject is detached from the receiving apparatus and then attached to an image display apparatus. The image display apparatus loads the group of in-vivo images from the portable recording medium and displays each of the loaded images on its display. Users, such as a doctor or a nurse, observe the interior of the internal organs of the subject by observing each in-vivo image that is displayed on the image display apparatus. On the basis of the observation result, the users can diagnose the subject.
Such capsule medical apparatuses include a capsule medical apparatus that has a structure that is sealed in a capsule-shaped outer casing and in which ring-shaped holders are alternately arranged between a plurality of rigid boards, such as an illumination board and an imaging board (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-141897). In the process for assembling a capsule endoscope disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-141897, the rigid boards, which serve as function achieving units, are alternately superposed on the ring-shaped holders. The ring-shaped holders interposed between the rigid boards keep the rigid boards separated.